Life-saving vest.



M. ZAWADA.

LIFE SAVING VEST.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1. 1915.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

ICZ'EY-Il EEG- 2 .I'IE-IEI zen of the United States,

the collapsed condition,

MIKE ZAWADA, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

LIFE-SAVING VEST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1M), 1191?.

Application filed September 1, 1915. Serial No. 48,545.

To all wkom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MIKE ZAwAnA,-a citiand resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Vests, of which I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description", such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

The objects of the invention are to provide an inflated life saving .sst for travelers or bathers which can be packed away in the valise or steamer trunk of a passenger upon an ocean going vessel and which will'require very little room for storage when in and can be quickly inflated and secured upon the person of the owner when there is danger of his being immersed in the ocean or carried out by the surf beyond his depth.

Many ocean travelers are unable to swim and will be buoyed up above the surface by means of the inflated jacket which incloses the chest and supports the head and body in a vertical position in the water until they can be rescued by others from their dangerous position. i

The life saving vest can also be worn underneath a coat or jacket and is not cumbersome to wear or clumsy in appearance.

The invention comprises the combination and arrangement of inner and outer members forming the walls of air chambers and means for inflating the same, and details of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the claims. In the accompanying drawings Figures 1,

2, and 3 are front, side and rear elevations 4 respectively of the life saving vest arranged of the wearer closely.

for ladies use; Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are front,

side and rear elevations of the vest adapted for gentlemens use; Fig. 7 is a transverse section on line w-w, Fig. 6.

In these views A is a thinouter member formed of rubber or other expansible material, and B is a liningtherefor preferably made of rubbered cloth or similar material These members are shaped from suitable patterns to fit the body Inner inflatable bags can be inserted between these walls if desired.

" preferably arranged The inner and outer members are cemented together at their edges as at a, a, and are to form two air chambers or a multiple number of chambers, which can be inflated separately or connected together with air passages if desired. When a multiple number of chambers are formed they are separated by'means of partitions N, N.

The front edges of the vest thus formed are secured by means of elastic devices such as loops L, L, and elastic buttons L, L permitting the vest to adapt itself when inflated to the person of the wearer, and to permit of inflation if necessary while worn upon the person of the wearer.

Since a complete inclosure of the chest in impermeable goods such as rubber would compress the nerves to an injurious degree in the lumbar region, and would also cause great discomfort from overheating and pre venting the admission of air to the surface of the skin, large openings 0, O, are formed extending through the sides of the chambers, where the nerves are prominent. Openings O, 0; are also provided through which the arms extend.

In the ladies vest the back is preferably divided at P and provided with eyes P, P, and lacing Q to permit any vest taken at random from a pile of life saving vests to be made to fit comfortably upon travelers of several diflerent sizes.

An air valve and stem S can be used to in- Hate the entire vest if the chambers are connected, or a number of air valves can be employed if desired.

A short rubber tube T may be employed as a valve stem to facilitate inflating the vest.

The device is simple, efficient and can be worn under the coat so that in case of an spaced strain relieving openings, an inner non-elastic Wall secured to said outer Wall and having openings registering With the aforesaid openings, inwardly directed air reservoirs formed from the said inner Wall, and horizontally spaced, vertical partitions Within the said air reservoirs dividing them into individual compartments, and air retaining means communicating with said compartments.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand this 21st day of August, l915.

MIKE ZAWADA.

WM. M. MONROE. 

